Hearings on airline's labor dispute set for Oct. 17

July 09, 1994|By Dallas Morning News

DALLAS -- Arbitrators are scheduled to begin hearings Oct. 17 on the contract dispute between American Airlines Inc. and its flight attendant union, 11 months after Association of Professional Flights Attendants members walked off their job.

A three-member board has scheduled six weeks of hearings to decide issues unresolved since last November's strike against American. The 1993 walkout ended when company and APFA leaders agreed to submit their dispute to binding arbitration.

The arbitrators first must decide what issues can be brought up in arbitration. The union has argued that the two parties must start with only those items on the table Nov. 18 when the strike began, while American has said it should be able to again bring up items that had been withdrawn from the table.

The APFA board has authorized a three-person panel to negotiate a contract settlement if possible before the arbitration begins.

On a related matter, APFA this week settled a lawsuit filed by American, which was fighting the union's plans to publish a list of flight attendants who worked during the strike and to discipline 10 members who refused to strike.

The union agreed to hold off on publishing the list until an arbitrator decides a contract grievance.